Indian Ports Association

Indian Ports Association

Indian transport officials hope injecting Rs 1,755 crore (US $276.7 million) into a rail project and multi-purpose cargo terminal on the country’s east coast will help kick-start efforts to make cargo movements more efficient and reliable.

Indian shippers already facing a wave of surcharges tied to landside congestion at major ports received another blow earlier this week when the federal government issued a decree allowing Indian Railways to charge a “port congestion surcharge” for cargo moving to inland distribution points.

Container throughput at major state-owned ports in India expanded 5.3 percent year-over-year during April to July, the first four months of fiscal year 2014-15, according to preliminary figures released by the Indian Ports Association.

The volume of containers shipped via major ports in India climbed nearly 4 percent year-over-year from April to June, the first quarter of fiscal year 2014-15, showing signs of a slight turnaround in global trade.

The volume of export and import containers handled at major ports in India slid 3 percent year-over-year in fiscal year 2013-14, from April 2013 to March 2014, but total cargo tonnage inched up 1.78 percent, according to the latest traffic data released by the Indian Ports Association.